Tag Archives: middle-east
Lack of suitable homes prevents over 55s in UK from moving
More than 500,000 home owners aged 55 and over in the UK want to move but do not because of lack of suitable housing, new research has found. Some 19% in this age group considered moving in the past two years but have not done so while 23% who considered moving said that a lack of suitable housing was the main reason they did not do so. The stress and upheaval of moving as well as not wanting to be away from friends, neighbours and community are also obstacles to moving, according to the annual home owner survey conducted by YouGov for the Home Owners Alliance and BLP Insurance. The survey report says that with the recent Brexit decision, it is uncertain what the impact on new housing is likely to be but this does not take away from the fact that tackling the UK housing shortage remains a pressing concern. So called last time buyers, we have been told, could help ease the housing crisis in the UK, it suggests. If older home owners living in homes that are under occupied moved to smaller properties it would free up more housing stock. There are an estimated 11.4 million homeowners age 55 and over. Overall some 30% of home owners aged 55 and over said stress and upheaval are reasons for not moving compared to 21% of all home owners while 23% did not want to move away from friends compared with 17%. Prices are not as much of a barrier at 22% compared to 31%. When thinking about a future move, top priorities are similar regardless of age. Good build quality is important to 71%, spacious rooms 72% and parking 69%. However, compared with UK home owners generally, a greater proportion of home owners age 55 or older identify availability of parking at 77% to 69%, low running costs at 70% compared to 59%, proximity to shops at 66% to 55%, good transport links 56% to 47%. ‘The recent Brexit decision means we are now in the midst of uncertain times and new housing is likely to be a victim. Government needs to focus efforts on negotiating a European exit but they must not drop the ball in delivering new housing that meets the needs of last time buyers,’ said Paula Higgins, chief executive officer of the Home Owners Alliance. ‘House builders can't be allowed to sit on their hands and land bank. The government needs to keep them building and building houses that meet the needs of last time buyers as well as first time buyers,’ she added. According to Kim Vernau, chief executive officer of, BLP Insurance, the issues highlighted in the survey that face last time buyers are as acute as those issues encountered by first time buyers. ‘If we wish to provide the required quality of housing that addresses these concerns we desperately need an appropriate mix of well-designed homes alongside adequate local infrastructure… Continue reading
Home sales down by 0.9% in Canada in June but prices up over 11% year on year
Nationally home sales fell 0.9% from May to June in Canada while prices were up 11.2% year on year, according to the latest index data. It means that monthly falls in sales activity has left transactions down 2.6% below the record set in April 2016, the home index from the Canadian Real Estate Association of Canada (CREA) also shows. There is also considerable price differences depending on location. For example if Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver are left out of the equation prices are up 8.4% year on year. Sales activity was down from the previous month in about half of all markets in June, with declines in Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Greater Toronto having eclipsed gains in comparatively less active housing markets. ‘While national sales activity remains strong, there are still significant differences in housing market trends across Canada,’ said CREA President Cliff Iverson. ‘While home sales activity and price growth are running strong in B.C. and Ontario, they remain subdued in other markets where home buyers are cautious and uncertain about the outlook for their local economy,’ he added. A breakdown of the figures show that two storey single family home prices continued to post the biggest year on year gain at 15.5%, followed by one storey single family homes up 14%, townhouse/row units up 13.6% and apartments up 9.8%. While prices in nine of the 11 markets tracked by the index posted year on year gains in June, price growth continues to vary widely among housing markets. Greater Vancouver with price growth of 32.1% and the Fraser Valley up 35.5% posted the largest annual gains. Greater Toronto recorded price growth of 16%, Victoria was up 15.7%, up 10.6% in Vancouver Island, up 7.9% in Greater Moncton, up 4.1% in Calgary, up 3.6% in Regina, up 1.9% in Greater Montreal and up 1% in Ottawa but prices fell by 4.1% in Calgary year on year and by 1.4% Saskatoon. The national average price continues to be pulled upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which remain two of Canada’s tightest, most active and expensive housing markets. The actual, not seasonally adjusted, national average price for homes sold in June 2016 was $503,301, up 11.2% year on year. However, if these two housing markets are excluded from calculations, the average price is a more modest $374,760 and the gain is trimmed to 8.4% year on year. June sales extended trends observed the previous month, according to Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. ‘As was the case in May, the monthly decline in national sales activity was led by the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and markets in or around the GTA,’ he said. ‘In keeping with the law of supply and demand, exceptionally low inventory combined with high demand continues to translate into strong price growth in these housing markets, where year on year price gains have been running in double digit territory since late last year,’ he pointed out. Actual,… Continue reading
UK gross mortgage lending up 16% in June month on month
Gross mortgage lending in the UK reached £20.7 billion in June, some 16% higher than May’s lending total of £17.8 billion, and 3% higher than the £20.1 billion lent in June last year. The data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows that this is the highest June figure in eight years when gross lending reached £22.6 billion in 2008. Gross mortgage lending for the second quarter of 2016 was therefore an estimated £56.1 billion but this is 10% lower than the first quarter of this year, but 8% higher than the second quarter of 2015. ‘The result of the European Union referendum is likely to affect the housing market, but there remains considerable uncertainty,’ said CML senior economist Mohammad Jamei. ‘Although mortgage firms have ample lending capacity, activity levels are likely to bear the brunt of any market adjustment over the next six months or so, as buyers and sellers wait to get a clearer idea of where we might be headed,’ he explained. ‘But as with the economy, the UK housing market’s starting position is relatively favourable, with transactions having increased by almost 80% from post-crisis lows. Over the next six months, activity is likely to soften modestly, while lending will be driven more by remortgaging and less by house purchases,’ he added. ‘We also expect some form of monetary easing to be undertaken by the Monetary Policy Committee when it meets on 04 August, given the uncertain outlook that has set in after the vote result,’ he pointed out. According to John Goodall, chief executive officer of peer to peer platform Landbay, this spike in mortgage lending levels in June suggests both home buyers and sellers refused to sit on their hands in the run up to the EU referendum result. ‘The market has been something of a rollercoaster ride since the Stamp Duty stampede at the start of 2016, but while the mortgage market continues to find its new normal, its foundations continue to show strength,’ he said. ‘We’re yet to see the long term effects of the Brexit vote on market activity, but it’s clear that the UK’s housing shortage will remain the pivotal issue in defining the future health of the sector. Theresa May has made her political intentions clear for further housebuilding pledges, but must recognise the vital importance of the private rented sector in the housing mix,’ he pointed out. ‘Even with a radical programme to combat housing shortages, supply has a mountain to climb before it catches up with demand, so even a moderate house price correction would do little to hamper the UK’s reliance on the buoyant buy to let market,’ he added. Continue reading
